Studer a80 capstan motor service
- Thread starter baxa
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If you can't figure out what size washers/shims you need in the motor, you probably should not be trying to fix it yourself. Leave that kind of work to experts (see link). This deck is not some old Sony you found at a yard sale for $10. A SOTA tape deck deserves to be fixed right by experienced technicians.
https://www.athan.com/store/p137/Capstan_Motor_Rebuild_for_Studer_A80_2TRK_.html
https://www.athan.com/store/p137/Capstan_Motor_Rebuild_for_Studer_A80_2TRK_.html
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AFAIK Studer did not release technical support for the capstan motors - they assumed that they should only be re-built at the factory. IMHO the best help you will get is from the diagrams of the two versions of the revox B77 motor - perhaps one of them has a similar to your A80 capstan motor - see https://nagravox.com
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Tapetech
Surely, I accept and understand that a professional technician does not want to carry such job. However, the same way most people do not use Audio House bearings in their A80's or the DIY audio community modify turntable bearings and tonearms, a reel to reel hobbyist may want to carry this task, particularly as the motor capstan Audio House refurbishment will cost around 1000 euros. We should remember that sometimes people do it mostly for the fun, not for the specifications or listening to master tapes.
I agree that the bronze sleeve version is difficult to repair on its own, but this one where you just need to change the ball bearing is not.The problem is that someone has done this before but missed the distance and washers and misassembled it. I thought someone might have a picture of that performance where I can see what missing. This one for Revox 77 is completely different.
Even if you did have a detailed picture of the motor internals that showed where every washer/shim went, it wouldn't help you. You would need to know exactly the dimensions of each washer/shim. Often those are not off the shelf parts, but custom sizes. A company that specializes in rebuilding Studer motors would have those exact parts. You don't have them.
That philosophy applies to the $10 old Sony RTR you find at a yard sale.
However, it does not make sense to me to buy a non-working SOTA tape deck and just "sort of get it working" by fixing it yourself. What's the point of that unless you just want bragging rights?
Remember that I have seen hundreds of tapes decks that have been "worked on" by owners. It's not a pretty picture. Often, the unit ends up having more problems than when they started. The Baxa post is a perfect example: someone thought they had a bad capstan motor, so they took it apart, couldn't find or fix the problem and they put it back together with a bunch of critical parts missing.
However, it does not make sense to me to buy a non-working SOTA tape deck and just "sort of get it working" by fixing it yourself. What's the point of that unless you just want bragging rights?
Remember that I have seen hundreds of tapes decks that have been "worked on" by owners. It's not a pretty picture. Often, the unit ends up having more problems than when they started. The Baxa post is a perfect example: someone thought they had a bad capstan motor, so they took it apart, couldn't find or fix the problem and they put it back together with a bunch of critical parts missing.
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My view is the contrary, spending time and resources in a $10 old Sony is a poor deal, refurbishing an old Studer A80 can be a challenging and entertaining hobby. I agree with your view of the average situation and will avoid focusing on specific cases of our members, but will object that the Studer A80 is a perfect machine for someone wanting to learn. A decade ago I was not aware of the existence of the Studer A80, today I can identify what is the guilty rolling part of my Studer just looking at the wow and flutter spectra with adequate resolution.
For reasons that many tape hobbyist already know - available complete service manuals, standard wearing parts and non critical availability of any electronic spare, plenty of support in archived and current forums, I think that the A80 is a good approach to reel to reel DIY enthusiasts, particularly if we manage to get one for a decent price
- when I got my machines prices were around euro 600 for a complete, no missing parts, but not serviced machine.
For reasons that many tape hobbyist already know - available complete service manuals, standard wearing parts and non critical availability of any electronic spare, plenty of support in archived and current forums, I think that the A80 is a good approach to reel to reel DIY enthusiasts, particularly if we manage to get one for a decent price
- when I got my machines prices were around euro 600 for a complete, no missing parts, but not serviced machine.
I just finished repairing a Studer A820 that the owner tried to repair himself. His effort were a complete disaster (he actually created more defects). And HE bought the A820 from from someone who tried and failed to fix the deck as well. So I was stuck fixing the original defects plus cleaning up the mess two owners created.
The A820 is not and should not be something to "learn how to fix and align tape decks". That is what a "garage sale" tape deck is for. When you end up destroying a $10 tape deck it no big deal. Destroying an A820 is a big deal and very expensive to remedy.
The A820 is not and should not be something to "learn how to fix and align tape decks". That is what a "garage sale" tape deck is for. When you end up destroying a $10 tape deck it no big deal. Destroying an A820 is a big deal and very expensive to remedy.
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